The characters from BtVS and Angel do not belong to me. I am, however, holding them until the ransom is paid…
A/N: It's been awhile since I wrote the last chapter of this series, hope you all still remember where it left off…
Doha, Qatar
One year later
"Spike, I'm thinking next time we spin the globe, I should use my thumb rather than my nail. Saudi Arabia, yeah, everyone's heard of that, but Qatar?"
"At least they speak English."
"Why can't I ever land on Jamaica, or Hawaii, or…California?" Spike just shrugged his shoulders.
"This place has got a population of two. We're wasting our time searching for vampire nests." Spike was about to tell Buffy for the fifteenth time to shut up when he heard a noise off to his right. He motioned for her to be quiet.
Buffy had heard it a second before he did, and was already in Slayer mode. Two dead Muslim vampires walked right in front of them. They were saying something in Arabic, and Buffy was about to charge them, but Spike held her back.
After the two vamps passed, Buffy turned on Spike. "What the hell were you doing? We're not here to let them go. We come, we see, we slay, we globe trot. We do NOT let them go!"
"We do when they are going to show us to their nest." He said with a cocky grin.
Buffy looked at him, wearily "And how do you know that they are going to lead us to their nest?"
Spike rolled his eyes, "Come on, Slayer, weren't you listening to a thing they were saying?" he said, knowing full well she couldn't understand.
"Spike, I don't know Arabian!"
"It's Arabic, and that's my point. We're on an adventure here, Slayer. The least you could do is show some interest in our surroundings. Learn the language, the culture. There's no reason you can't mix business with pleasure."
"Haven't you already tried that line on me…oh, yeah, but that's when you were trying to get in my pants, so I guess that doesn't count."
"What the hell is your problem. You've been a complete ass for weeks now!" Spike was so fed up with the way that Buffy had been treating him. She was always complaining, she was always bitchy, and she was always calling him out on his feelings for her.
"What's so hard to understand! I told you a year ago that I wanted to go home! But we're still traipsing around this God-forsaken world. Cordy has already had the baby. Everyone would have thrown her a baby shower, and had been there when she went into labor, and stood around at the window when the nurse brought the baby around. And then Xander would have passed out cigars, or maybe did the Snoopy dance…and it all happened, while I was GOD KNOWS WHERE WITH YOU!
Spike looked as if she had smacked him. He was taken aback by the anger and raw pain he heard in her voice. He also couldn't get over the last thing she said. Could she mean that she was miserable being with him? He knew that she still missed Angel. He couldn't forget. Every morning they would go to bed and he'd have to listen to her talk to Angel in her sleep. He didn't understand, though. He couldn't. He'd been so shamelessly happy the past ten years. He couldn't think of a better way to spend his eternity than with Buffy. Now she was telling him that she was miserable.
Spike couldn't deal with this now, around her anyway. He needed to kill something and he needed to kill it now. "I'm going to find the nest. Why don't you go pack a bag or something." It wasn't a question, but a command. "We'll leave tomorrow at dusk." He couldn't stand to look at her another second. He turned and walked in the direction the two vamps had taken earlier.
Sunnydale
"Happy Birthday, Dear Angela. Happy Birthday to you!" Everyone clapped as Cordelia helped Angela blow out the candles on her first birthday cake. The sweet moment was ruined, though, when Angela dug her hand into the center of the cake and rubbed it off on her mother. Xander was quick with the paper towels, trying to get as much cake off Cordy as he could.
Willow stood back and watched the family together. They were perfect.
"Will, are you feeling okay? Is your stomach sick?" Faith was whispering to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"You're holding your stomach like it hurts." Faith said and gestured at Willow's hands.
Willow looked down and noticed that her hands were covering her belly. She removed them hesitantly and looked at Faith with wide eyes. "I think we need to talk." Faith started to lead her away from the group, but Willow stopped her. "Not here. When we get home." Faith started to argue, but Willow had on her resolve face, so she conceded.
Angel also stood apart from the group. As he looked at each one of his friends, he noticed how much they had changed. They didn't look 'old' they just looked really mature. Each one had grown into their own. They were so beautiful. And, as always, he thought of Buffy. He wanted to know what she looked like."
"Angel? Are you alright?" Angel turned to the blonde at his side and smiled. "I'm fine, sweetheart." He kissed the top of her head and pulled her to where he could hold her and she could lean back into him. "Do you ever want one?" She asked. Angel considered it for a minute, and shook his head. "No. I've accepted that I can't have one, so I never really think about it." And he added to himself, 'And I've accepted that it wouldn't be Buffy's, so I don't really care'.
Beth knew that her lover was a vampire, and she knew that the entire group had lost someone that they never talk about, and that Angel grieved the most for whoever it was, but that was the extent of it. She knew that Angel loved her totally and completely, and as far as she was concerned, that's all she needed.
Still, she did think about marriage a lot. And recently, she had been thinking about a baby. She wanted Angel in her life permanently, and she wanted to start a family with him. But she couldn't get over the fact that he seemed to be content with where they were in the relationship. She'd have to talk to Cordelia or Faith. They seemed to be Angel's best friends, so she knew they had to have some inside scoop that she didn't.
Of course, she had an ulterior motive. She didn't like the closeness that those two girls had with her Angel. She didn't like the fact that they might know something about him that she didn't. But she would fix that problem. She would fix all of their problems. Once Elizabeth Winters set her mind on something, she accomplished it. Steeled by that thought, Beth turned her mind back on the party.
Later that night: Faith and Willow's apartment
"Okay, Will, let's talk. What was bothering you at the party?"
Willow had been trying to figure out a way to tell Faith what she wanted, but every time what she said in her head seemed too stupid to actually say. She and Faith had been together for a while, but this was a big commitment. Maybe Faith wasn't ready for such a huge step.
"Will?" Faith was really worried now. Whenever Willow had a problem, a really big one, you could see that she was trying to figure out what to say in her head, that and she chewed the left side of her bottom lip. Faith smiled. Willow noticed Faith's smile and became a little disconcerted.
"What are you smiling for?" She asked hesitantly
"You're getting more nervous with every second, just come out with it and tell me what's going on."
"Well, there really is no easy way to say this to you. I know we've been together for a while, and things have been great. Really, really great. But what if I want something, but you don't want that something and then we aren't so great anymore. I would have ruined a perfectly good relationship because I wanted something and you didn't-"
"Shhh" Faith put her fingers over Willow's mouth. "Just out with it already."
Willow took a deep breath and took Faith's hands in hers. "I want a baby."
Buffy stood outside the door of the mansion on Crawford Street. She had to do this. She raised her hand, and knocked tentatively on the door. 'No. I can't do this yet.' Buffy turned to leave when the door opened up behind her. "Buffy?"
Buffy slowly turned towards the door. He hadn't changed; well, duh, vampire, but he looked the same. She ran into his arms. He felt the same. She took a breath and, dear lord, the man even had the same smell. "I've missed you Angel."
He was holding her so tightly, and kept on saying word of love into her hair over and over again. "I missed you too. But it's okay now. You're home now…Are you ready to go back?…Hey?…Are you listening?…Slayer!?"
"What?" Buffy was dazed. Spike was standing in front of her. "I said, are you bloody well ready to go back?"
Buffy smiled up at him. "Yes. I'm ready."
The Harris' Home
Cordelia and Xander were sitting on their living room floor, taking a walk down Memory Lane. Their yearbooks were spread out across the floor, and they were taking turns reading the signatures and messages that were written years ago.
Cordelia was reading a message from Harmony "Cordelia. I'm sorry you took such a hideous fall from grace. But hopefully you will be able to redeem yourself. Your prom dress was a good start. Have a great summer!"
"Oh God. What did I wear to prom?" Cordelia said, laughing.
"The dress I bought for you." Xander said smugly
Cordelia had just flipped to the prom page when the doorbell rang. She picked up Angela and shifted her from one hip to another as she went to the door. She was less than pleased to see Beth standing on the other side.
"Hi, Cordy. Is this a bad time?" Beth was all smiles as she walked past Cordelia
"Well, actually…"
"I really needed someone to talk to. Do you have a minute? "It's just his thing with Angel…" She continued, heedless of Cordelia's wishes.
"I want to marry Angel." Cordelia stopped at Beth's admission. "Why?" Cordelia asked because that was the only word that came to her mouth.
"I just think that we need to move our relationship forward. We're crazy about each other. We're in love! It's just that you're his best friend, and I was wondering what the best approach to take would be?" Beth finished with the sweetest of smiles on her face.
"Beth, to be perfectly honest…" what Cordy, 'he doesn't love you' 'you're a substitute for his soul mate' 'I wouldn't let him marry you if my life depended on it'…"I'm really not the best person to ask about this."
"But you two are so close."
"Not that close, really. I don't know what to tell you. I'm sorry."
"Cordy? Who's there?"
"Hi Xander!" Beth made her way to the living room where Xander still sat with the yearbooks.
"Beth. What a surprise!" He gave Cordelia a look to which she responded by nodding him towards the kitchen.
"Uh, Beth. Can I get you something to drink?"
"I'd love some water, thank you."
Xander followed Cordy into the kitchen to find out what was going on. Beth sat down on the couch, and noticed the prom layout. She bent over and picked up the annual. She was reading one of the captions 'Buffy Summers dances the night away after winning the title of Class Protector'. Class Protector? What an odd superlative to give out. Beth looked at the picture and froze. It was a picture of a beautiful blonde in a pink dress. She was looking up at a man with so much love in her eyes that a blind person would have been able to see it. But the part that bothered her the most was that the man holding her so tightly was HER Angel.
Beth couldn't do anything but stare at the girl. She looked like…no! Her mouth was dry. She had to leave; she had to get away from this book. Beth stood up and practically ran out of the house.
Back in the kitchen, Xander was looking at Cordelia as if she lost her mind. "What's so wrong with that. She loves him. As perverse as that seems, I can't see this as a bad thing. Angel needs someone. He needs to get on with his life. It was harder for me to admit than anyone, but she isn't coming. Buffy hasn't been here for almost ten years. I gave up thinking that she would come walking through the door. We all have to deal with that. Especially Angel."
Cordelia knew he was right. It was just that she had a problem with Beth. Could Angel have found ANYONE who looked more like Buffy? Same stature, same hair, the same eyes, the same…look. It was creepy when Angel first introduced her to everyone. They all saw the resemblance. Nobody wanted to say anything to Angel, though. Now, seeing how far this relationship might go, Cordelia desperately wished she had said something to him. I mean, come on! Buffy Summers, Beth Winters. Creepy. Well, it was out of her hands now.
Xander and Cordelia walked back into the living room, but Beth had left. Lying on the couch was the annual. Xander picked it up and handed it to Cordelia. It was open to the page where Angel and Buffy would dance for eternity. "I think she might have just figured out a piece to the puzzle." Cordelia couldn't be upset about this. It should have come out years ago. It was inevitable.
Angel was standing on the front porch of his house. He usually came out here to think or clear his mind or meditate. Tonight he was meditating. That is, until Beth came around from the driveway. "Angel." Her voice was low and calm, but there was something under it that Angel couldn't figure out.
"Yeah, sweetie?"
"Who. Is. Buffy?"
Angel became considerably paler. He stared at Beth as if she had just grown three heads. "How…" Angel shook his head and turned to go inside. Beth got to him first though, grabbed his shoulder and turned him around to face her. "Is she who I've been fighting all this time? Is she the one you already fell in love with? Who IS SHE!"
Angel didn't know when he began to cry. Just that he didn't want to deal with it. Ever. "Please don't ask me about her, Beth. Please. I…I really, really, can't talk about her. Don't force me to." His eyes were pleading with her. Her heart broke for him, but not as much as it would if she didn't finish what she came here to tell him. "I've always known that there was someone, or something that kept you apart from me. I know what it is now. But that doesn't change anything. You have to choose, Angel. Me…or your ghost. If I don't have some sort of commitment from you, I can't go on like this."
This got Angel's attention. 'She can't leave' he thought 'Bu-Beth can't leave me. I can't lose her again…' In one swift move, Angel had Beth in his arms. "Don't leave me Beth. I need you." He was crying, and her resolve was breaking. She had to do it now or she wouldn't ever do it. "Ask me, Angel. Ask me now, or I walk." She held her breath.
Angel felt something then. Something he couldn't explain. The feeling was so familiar, yet so painful. He pushed it aside. He knew what he had to do. He pulled away from Beth and looked her right in her hazel eyes. He only saw Buffy there. "Please marry me. Don't ever leave me. I love you."
"Are you ready for this? 'Cause, if you're not…we can wait."
"Spike, I need this. I need to see him. It's been way too long. Besides, what other choice do I have?"
"Well, we did land on Japan. We could always go fishing?"
Buffy just smiled up at him. She knew he was just trying to help her, and it really touched her. But she needed her Angel more than anything else. She took a deep breath and walked around to the front of the house she knew he lived in.
"…Marry me. Don't ever leave me. I love you." Buffy wished that she could remove the stake she knew was embedded in her heart, just so she could scream. Scream and kick and pull and bite and do anything that would take that girl out of Angel's arms. Anything to take back those words that he had just said to another woman.
Buffy knew she was crying. She knew that Spike was holding her up. She knew that Angel was going to marry another woman. Her mind was screaming. It wouldn't stop. "Oh God…Angel?" And then her world went black.
Buffy woke up later on that night. Everything came rushing back, but she didn't feel it. She didn't feel anything. Spike was sitting on a plot in the cemetery, holding her. God, she really felt dead. She wondered if this is what they all felt like. She needed to get up. She needed to get away from this town. "Spike?" Her voice sounded hoarse to her own ears. "Will you bait my hook for me?"
That was all Spike needed. If she had shed another tear, he would have gone back and killed his fucking Sire. Instead, he picked her up and cradled her in her arms. They had a long trip ahead of them.
Please review and tell me what you think! I'd be grateful…